It's that time of year again, and I've got the travel bug! The adventures will begin with the whole family in Vietnam and Cambodia. After my dad flies home, my ma, sister, and I will explore the beaches of Thailand. Then, my sister and I are let loose to roam Southeast Asia heading towards Nepal and northern India. Mid April I fly to Zambia to volunteer for a month at Appeased School before starting work in San Francisco. Ready or not, HERE I COME!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Dinner for Two

Suzie and I were invited to a Burmese family dinner. We had
no idea what to expect or what to bring or what not to bring. Thankfully our
tour guide told us no one brings flowers unless it’s for a girlfriend and even
that is not very common. Scratch that idea! So, we brought drinks instead and a
little desert. We sat at the table to find there were only two placesettings!
Hmmmmm are we eating with the family?? I guess the family had already eaten, or
so they said, and it was only the son that was going to join us. At least we
had one family member joining us! The plates came out full of rice. Holy cow!
How are Suzie and I going to eat all this rice?!? The food was delicious. We
had red curry, sweet and sour soup with quail eggs, duck egg salad, and
cauliflower. I noticed the boy only really used the broth from the soup and the
red curry with rice. I don’t know if that was personal preference or he wanted
to save the meat and veggies for the rest of his family. Throughout dinner, the
family members came and went as if eating in the kitchen. I don’t know if this
was a cultural difference or what, but I just let it happen. Half a plate of
rice down and I couldn’t go any further. I wanted to, but I was stuffed to the
rim! Desert was mini bananas which looked so good, but soooo bad because I was
so full!

After dinner we played go fish with cards. I never realized
how hard it is to explain a game to people who aren’t fluent in English. Though,
the kids caught on quick so afterwards we played a dice game. Before we headed
out, we got a family portrait which I hope to send them later. There address was
very different from ours. It described where the house was in relation to a
restaurant and included a phone number. We gave them our information and I
would love to stay in contact with the family. They are such amazing people. I
hugged the mother which I quickly found out was not a part of the culture but
she embrace it, and shook the fathers hand. They seemed so appreciative for our
presents which was exactly how we felt as well.